Imagine being an NBA legend and having no option but to willingly miss watching your kids carry on your legacy. That’s the sad story of Shaquille O’Neal not being able to watch his children play. Not live, at least. The reason, you ask? He believes that his kids do not play well when he is in attendance at their games. But the recent revelation by his 24-year-old son, Shareef, can potentially challenge this perception of the 4x NBA champion.

During the latest episode of At The Buzzer on ClutchPoints, Shareef got into a discussion regarding LSU and his father’s legacy at the college. In no time, the discussion reached the 24-year-old’s own time at the university. “The first game he came to watch me play… It started going crazy and I want to say that was probably my best game that I had at LSU was the one he came to,” Shareef said.

Now, he did not specify the timeline or the opponent of this game. One of the reported games when Shaq went to watch Shareef play was against the Missouri Tigers. And this is the game where Shareef dropped his highest numbers while playing for LSU. 9 points and 7 rebounds. So, it’s safe to assume that this is the game the 24-year-old was referencing on the podcast.

Now, even though Shareef’s statement of this being his best game stands true, this is not a performance you’d consider good for an NBA legend’s son. Shaquille O’Neal, therefore, was not completely wrong when he said, “When I watched my kids play, they don’t play well,” on Angel Reese’s podcast. O’Neal only does this to save his kids from any possible embarrassment.

But let’s not blame Shaq for Shareef’s subpar numbers against the Missouri Tigers. Especially, considering that the 24-year-old never even touched the 3 ppg mark. Not even in a single season of his college basketball career. But then again, there have been other instances when Shaq was in the crowd and his son did not perform as most would expect.      

Shaquille O’Neal’s worst fear came true at Shaqir O’Neal’s game  

When Shaqir and Me’Arah had their opening games fall on the same day, Shaq and Shaunie handled the situation perfectly as Henderson attended her daughter’s game while Big Diesel ensured his son did not feel the absence of his family on his big night. But sometimes, even the best-laid plans don’t end with smiles.

Shaqir had a rough outing, to put it mildly. He managed to make just one shot from the field out of 4 attempts, missed both his 3-pointers, and finished with 2 points and one rebound in 15 minutes. But then again, let’s not pin it all on him. The entire Rattlers squad struggled and ended up on the wrong side of a 46-point blowout against the TCU Horned Frogs.

Meanwhile, Shaunie must have been glad to see Me’Arah’s Gators cruise to an 82-54 victory over the Owls. Me’Arah herself put up a solid effort with 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 20 minutes. Now, maybe Shaq can give Me’Arah a visit for one of her games. And we can further test his theory about attending his children’s games.